Wednesday, November 30, 2011

When I wake up and look at this view with my morning coffee I know that someone is wishing me a great "Good Morning"!

Today was a gorgeous Colorado day with afternoon highs in the 60s and lows last night of 19. It is typical to have more than 40 degrees temperature change in one day. Tomorrow's high is to be 26 with an overnight low of 4! Knowing how cold it will be for the rest of the week, I went for a hike at the Garden of The Gods this morning!

I had a question about how I paint these skies from my deck, ie: do I set up on the deck, do I paint from the kitchen? Actually, I do both of these as well as use photo references. I think that whatever way works best for the artist, is the best way to paint! As I've said, some mornings I just sit with my cup of coffee and look, as these sunrises pass pretty quickly!

Monday, November 28, 2011

Sometimes in the morning our sunrises are quiet, calm, peaceful. Other mornings I look out and see only soft blues, with very little "real" sunrise. There are other mornings when the sky is a palette of color.

Sunday, November 27, 2011

As we have family in town for the weekend, I'm not getting any painting done. We've gone for walks, have had great meals with lots of visiting, went to the movies. These sunrises from our deck were painted a short while ago to be posted this weekend.

The title for this piece is complements of Dean Haven who told me in a comment yesterday that I was "more than lucky to have this view...Blessed is more like it!" He's right! I thought that that made a great title!

Friday, November 25, 2011

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with delicious food, great friends and family. I am thankful for all of that and more. I am grateful for all the friends I've made and the many people that I've met through blogging. I am so thankful that I can spend my time painting. I would also have to say that I'm lucky to look at this view in the morning.

Sunday, November 20, 2011

This is one of the pieces that I have hanging at Summerland Gardens. I photographed it there, instead of in my usual spot, and there's a slight glare. I'll try to get over there and re-photo it.
I'm not sure that all of these are mighty fine wines, but...

Joy to the World by Three Dog Night
"Jeremiah was a bullfrog.
Was a good friend of mine.
Never understood a single word he said,
but he always had some mighty fine wine."

Friday, November 18, 2011

This The Season
6" x 6" Oil
$100.00 + $10. s/h
This is the second of the vintage, non shiny Christmas ornaments that I recently painted. It was great how so many commenters on my last post talked about the ornaments from their childhood, their mother's ornaments, etc. What wonderful memories of the past. I would love to have all, or even some, of the ornaments from my childhood trees to paint. How many ornaments from your childhood do you still have?

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

I love painting Christmas ornaments. I love the shine, sparkle and reflections. These ornaments are vintage, and aren't regular, shiny glass balls. They're antiqued and somewhat matte. I found this a fun challenge.

This is one of my paintings that will be at Summerland Gardens during the holiday season. This weekend, November 18 and 19, 10am-8pm is their Holiday Open House. Hope you can stop by and share some holiday cheer.

I also have paintings at Dream Pastries in Castle Rock. This Saturday is the annual Starlighting event, (the lighting of the star on the castle like rock). Events and openings will be taking place downtown, so please stop by there as well.

Sunday, November 13, 2011

I'm pleased that these two pieces, "Make The Season Bright" and "Late Bloom", have been accepted into the Six Inch Squared Show at the Randy Higbee Gallery in Costa Mesa, California. The Holiday Gala Artists Reception will be held the evening of December 3, 2011. I hope that anyone in that area will be able to attend.

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Last fall fellow Daily Painter Original blogger Karen Werner posted two incredible paintings, Old Glory and Old Glory 2. They were my inspiration for this piece and I thought it appropriate for Veteran's Day. Both of my parent's served in WWII, my dad was in the Army and my mom was a WASP. My grandfather was in both WWI and WWII.

This painting is of the flag that was on my grandfather's grave when he passed away in 1964. The flag went to my dad, who later passed down to my son (who was given my grandfather's name as his middle name.) We don't hang this flag outside, I should probably take it to the VFW and have them ceremoniously fold it. I'm pleased how this piece turned out. If I paint it again, I might try to make it look even a little more aged and faded.

"You're a grand old flag,
You're a high flying flag
And forever in peace may you wave."
George M. Cohan

Sunday, November 6, 2011

This post is for Andy Rooney, who just passed away. I so enjoyed listening to this cantankerous man. He was famous for speaking the truth, as he saw it anyway. So...."Did you ever wonder" why there are warts on gourds? As there is a purpose for everything in nature, the purpose of warts on gourds must be so that....animals don't chew on them?....frogs don't jump on them?...princes stay away from them?....any thoughts? Did the makers of Compound W ever really look at gourds? Why do you think that there are warts on gourds? Thank you Andy for all of your humorous thoughts and words.

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

I was thrilled the other day to wake up and see that a photo of me painting on the Colorado River during one of the Quick Draws at Plein Air Moab is in Plein Air Magazine's PleinAir Today "Outdoor Painter" Weekly Online Newsletter. I've included a link to the article:

Plein Air Magazine provided each Plein air Moab participant with a recent magazine. If you're not subscribing to PleinAir Today Online Newsletter , I highly recommend it. After all, such great photos are included! Who knows, one of you might be in it someday, too!

About Me

I am an oil painter from Colorado Springs, Colorado. I retired in May 2008 after 28 years of teaching art and now have more time to pursue my passions of painting and traveling. My life has revolved around my love of art, starting with afternoon art classes while in kindergarten, a degree in art education, sharing my passion with hundreds of students yearly, and painting as often as I can. This journal is a combination of my daily paintings, my studio and plein-air work, my classes and workshops, and pieces from my travels past and present.

Visit My Website

My Email

How To Purchase A Painting

Most of my paintings are for sale either by using a PayPal button or through the Daily PaintWorks Auction. If you are interested in a piece from my early days of blogging, before I used PayPal, please email me and I'll add a button just for you!

My husband and I love to travel. If you do not hear back from me pretty quickly after a purchase, we are on a trip to a location where we don't have immediate access to the internet. It is advised to not always announce on social media that you'll be away from your home for a long period of time, so often I talk about my trips and travels after the fact. Don't fret, I'll get back to you as soon as I can about the purchased painting.